Virtual Console and Panorama View coming to Wii U

Next week's Wii U system update will bring about several new features and services. The most notable is the Virtual Console, which starts the day after the system update comes available. This morning's Nintendo Direct told us that Wii U Virtual Console games can be played in off-TV mode on the GamePad, and each game will have their own Miiverse community.

For those that own VC games on the Wii, you can either continue to play them in Wii mode, or pay a small upgrade ($1.00 for NES and $1.50 for SNES games) to add Wii U functionality.

Iwata says that they're looking to add Game Boy Advance and Nintendo 64 games to the Wii U VC later.

Also following the update, a free Wii U Panorama View demo goes live. This is different from the Google street view application. These are more like virtual tours of world famous destinations, viewable from any angle using the GamePad. The demo will feature a taste of what you can expect from the full application. Nintendo says that individual tours can be purchased for $2.

Next week’s update will also add new touchups to the system. System switching loading times will be shortened, and a new standby function will let your Wii U download and install games even with the system off. Finally, holding the B button during power up will let you skip directly to Wii mode.